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02 Apr 2012, 09:06

Hi,

I am planning to apply for business school for start in 2013

1) I graduated in 2010 and went straight into a graduate position at a top British emerging markets Bank, which has done incredibly well in the crisis - it is the largest foreign bank in India, China and the Middle East. After a few months they moved me to Dubai, Where I did rotations in the Investment banking and PE departments, for two years (as well as brief rotations in risk and operations). I was recently transferred to the Investment banking desk in London. By matriculation in 2013 I will have 3 years of work exp, between here and Dubai (including a brief 3 month professional training Malaysia and China)

2) GMAT : 700, considering retaking.

3) College info: I read BSc (honours) Economics (international) from a top 20 Russell Group university in the UK, and graduated with a high 2.1.

This included a Erasmus exchange scholarship(which was offered to top 15 students in the business school) to study economics at a top university in Sweden for a year.

4) In 2009 I set up a small charity with a couple of friends, to build and renovate schools and libraries in target countries. We have built and renovated Libraries include Pakistan, Zambia and Kenya.

I am British of Libyan origin and have been very active during Libya's year long revolution. I am a member of the 'AngloLibyan Business Initiative', which has conducts seminars and workshops offering consulting advice and information to start-ups in Libya. I am also a member of a prominent youth NGO based in the UK, with the aim of giving the youth a voice in Libya - and have attracted multi-million dollar funding and support for international governmental and non governmental organisations.

I have had small entrepreneurial ventures such as purchasing a small pizza restaurant during my second year of university with some investors, and spinning it off 2 years later for a healthy profit. As well as starting a very small branded clothing venture whilst in Sweden for the international students

5) I am currently a CFA II candidate and hope to have the charter by matriculation

6) I am very interested in the MBA/MPA-ID 3 year course at HBS and HKS. I was wondering if you had an experience with that? Also Wharton and Stanford have a 2+1 MBA+1 year MPA with HKS which are highly appealing.

Otherwise Pure MBA wise i am interested only in HBS, Wharton, Stanford and Booth. I am willing to wait and reapply two or three times until i get in, before setting my sights a little lower. (I am currently 24)

7) My ambitions after graduating, is to work in VC/PE in the US for a few years, before transitioning into a quasi finance-governmental role in Libya, either as part of the SWF (LIA) or in the Libyan Foreign bank, with the long term goal (hence the MPA) of working in the finance ministry or the central bank.

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Thanks for providing all this information. Regarding your GMAT did you score over 80th% on each section? For programs you list, you will want at least that and 700 overall. You will be on the lower end of average years of work experience, but it sounds like you will be able to clearly demonstrate leadership, promotions, and transferable skills from the positions you have had so far. As a younger candidate, it will be important for you to show your maturity. Your community service work will also be a good example that you can pull from. You have clear future career goals. Given you are making a switch in the long term, make sure you are able to articulate the flow in your career and how that makes sense. You will also want to articulate why you need an MBA or MBA +MPA to get where you want to go in your career. Were there any specific questions you had about a joint MBA/MPA?

You mentioned reapplying to programs if needed. I would first encourage you to put your best application forward when you apply in the fall. If you do not get in and need to reapply, it will be important for you to demonstrate how you are a more qualified candidate – new work experiences, new community service, awards, etc. – and address any weaknesses from your initial application. Hopefully you won’t need to think about that!